The bearing surfaces of crankshafts and camshafts are machined several times consecutively when extremely high demands are made of their surface quality. Moreover, particularly with crankshafts and camshafts of multi-cylinder internal combustion engines, numerous bearing surfaces have to be machined. These factors entail long machining times.
German patent specification DE 100 09 980 C1 describes a device for the finish machining of crankshafts and camshafts. The device comprises a pressure mechanism for pressing a finishing belt against a bearing surface of the workpiece that is to be machined. While the bearing surface is being machined, the workpiece is rotated around its axis. In this process, the bearing surface that is arranged eccentrically relative to the workpiece axis is moved along a circular trajectory around the workpiece axis. The pressure mechanism is held on a compound rest slide so that the pressure mechanism can follow the movement along the circular trajectory of the bearing surface that is to be machined.
It has been found that, when the devices known from the state of the art are used for the fine machining of circumferential workpiece surfaces, the requisite machining times can only be shortened slightly or not at all.